Ace Kwon Soon-woo (Dangjin City Hall, 61st place) of the Korean men’s national team took on the important role of controlling the flow in the 1st singles as well as the ace confrontation in the 2023 Davis Cup finals (4 singles 1 doubles) .

As a result of the match draw before the final round of the 2023 Davis Cup between Korea and Belgium held at the Olympic Park Indoor Tennis Stadium in Songpa-gu, Seoul on the 3rd, Soon-woo Kwon faced Berris (115th place) in the first singles.

The 1st and 2nd singles will be held on the 4th, the first day of the match, and Hong Sung-chan (Sejong City Hall, 237th) and David Gopin (41st) will face each other in the 2nd singles.

In the doubles, which will be held as the first game on the 5th, the second day, Song Min-gyu (KDB Industrial Bank, 147th in doubles) – Nam Ji-seong (Sejong City Hall, 152nd in doubles) Joeran Bligen (53rd in doubles) – Sander Gillet (55th) will face each other. .

Then, in the 3rd singles match, the match between Kwon Soon-woo and Gopin, the aces of both teams, will take place. If both teams face each other with 2 wins and 2 losses until the 3rd singles match, Hong Seong-chan and Berris face off in the 4th singles match to determine the final win or loss.

The winning country advances to the Finals, the final round of 16 matches in the world, but if it loses, it is demoted to the World Group Qualifier 1.

As Korea seeks to advance to the Davis Cup Finals for the first time in history for two consecutive years, Kwon Soon-woo’s shoulders are heavier than ever.

According to the rules of the competition, in the 1st and 2nd singles matches, the player with the highest world ranking from both teams alternates with the player with the second highest ranking.

Accordingly, on the first day of the match, it was already decided that the match between Kwon Soon-woo and Veris and Hong Seong-chan and Gopin would unfold.

With the order of the two matches confirmed by lottery that day, the heavy responsibility of the first singles went to Kwon Soon-woo.

In terms of objective strength, Korea is inferior to Belgium.

Gopin is a player who rose to 7th in the world rankings in 2017. Among the two teams in singles, Berris’ world ranking is higher than Hong Seong-chan’s. Belgium is also ahead in the world rankings in doubles.

For this reason, home advantage and momentum are more important for Korea. If you win in the first singles match, the morale of the national team will rise and you can aim for more than expected results in the next match.

National team coach Park Seung-kyu emphasized, “In the Davis Cup, generally, if good results are achieved in the first singles and the atmosphere is set, the players can comfortably participate in the game without much burden.”

For Kwon Soon-woo, Berris is a worthy opponent.

Kwon Soon-woo has a personal best world ranking of 52nd, and has won two championships on the ATP Tour. His personal best performance in a major is the third round of the 2021 French Open.

Berris is currently ranked 115th, his personal best. He has yet to win an ATP Tour title.

Kwon Soon-woo, who even took on the heavy responsibility of being the first runner, said, “It would be a lie if I said there was no pressure to be a singles runner as much as I was playing in front of Korean fans.” There is also,” he said.

He continued, “I don’t think the first game will be easy. I will focus on the first game.”

What draws the attention of fans is the confrontation between Kwon Soon-woo and Gopin. Even if one team wins the 1st and 2nd singles and doubles matches and the match is decided, the 3rd singles match between the aces is played according to the rules.

Even if the 3rd singles match is held after the winner is decided, it is expected that a confrontation of pride will unfold as the aces face each other.

In terms of ranking and career, Gopin has an advantage over Kwon Soon-woo.

Gopin has also stood at the top six times in men’s professional tennis (ATP) tour events, and has a history of reaching the quarterfinals in major tournaments.

However, the recent trend is that Kwon Soon-woo is better. Kwon Sun-woo won the singles title at the second round of the ATP Tour Adelaide International last month, but Gopin withdrew from the Australian Open, his first major event of the season, due to poor physical condition.

The two are not lowering their guard against each other.

Kwon Soon-woo explained, “I have never played with Gopin, but I have practiced and I know him well because I have seen a lot of matches. He has a similar play style to me.”

At the same time, he expressed his confidence, saying, “Gopin has more experience than me and has a higher world ranking, but I am in good shape. I expect it to be an interesting match.”

Ko Peng also commented, “Kwon Sun-woo is a great player. He has never played head-to-head, but he has practiced, so I know him well.”

After facing Hong Seong-chan in the first day’s second singles match and facing Kwon Soon-woo in the third singles match on the 5th, Gopin said, “I preferred the second singles match not because I was concerned about the order, but because the first match started early.” I will think more about how to run the game in the third singles after the first game.” 메이저사이트